Jen Marr, Founder & CEO of Inspiring Comfort and author of Showing Up, develops solutions to bridge the gap between empathy and action.
Burnout and exhaustion have been rippling through the workforce at staggering rates. Today’s workforce is twice as likely to report that they are “always exhausted” than they were only 20 years ago.
The negative outcomes of burnout are alarming. Those who experience burnout are:
- 63% more likely to take a sick day
- 23% more likely to visit the emergency room
- More than twice as likely to be actively seeking a different job
We can only begin to tackle this by understanding the root cause.
Is burnout caused by task management or something else?
Many believe that burnout results from overwork. However, research will show that in most cases, limiting work won’t make work better. Rather, it’s the quality of the work experience that matters and has nearly three times the impact over the number of days or hours worked.
What happens when workers feel alone, unseen and undervalued? When they feel they have no support to help carry their load? When they are anxious about the future?
They have a poor work experience, and that is where burnout thrives.
Research from the American Psychological Association shows a strong link between social support at work and lower rates of burnout, greater work satisfaction and higher productivity.
The critical point is this: Burnout is often born from the absence of authentic connection and genuine care. Here are three key points that shed light on this phenomenon:
1. Loneliness and exhaustion are offset by social connection.
The absence of authentic connection and genuine care and support creates social repercussions far beyond an individual’s emotional state.
According to Harvard Business Review (HBR), “There is a significant correlation between feeling lonely and work exhaustion: The more people are exhausted, the lonelier they feel.” The disengagement, unsurprisingly, leads to more loneliness—which then leads to more disengagement, and so on.
What offsets it?
Strong social ties and connections with others in the workplace, as well as managers and leaders who check in and visibly show care and support, are what will counteract loneliness and exhaustion both in the short term and long term. Over time, this new support system can “strengthen our immune system, lengthen our life, and lower rates of anxiety and depression,” per HBR.
Meaningful connections remind us why we do what we do. When we connect with others who share our passions and values, it reignites our sense of purpose, making the daily grind feel less like a burden.
There is a direct connection between workplace engagement and relationships where employees feel valued, supported, respected and secure, according to HBR. These feelings also translate to greater psychological well-being, as well as higher productivity and performance.
2. People want to know their managers care.
On the front lines for cultivating these social and supportive connections in the workplace are managers and leaders.
When employees feel unsupported, uninformed and on their own because of managers who are unapproachable, unavailable and unrelatable, burnout is increasingly probable. According to Gallup, both the lack of manager support and unclear communication from managers correlate highly with employee burnout.
Simply knowing your manager cares about you has a strong correlation with higher engagement at work—and employees who do feel cared for by their manager are 70% less likely to experience burnout.
Supportive managers provide a “psychological buffer” that fosters resilience. Employees are less likely to burn out when they know their manager has their back, especially when challenges or problems emerge.
So what does this look like in practice?
Supportive managers have the skills to confidently respond to employees when they struggle and take actions that demonstrate that care. They make themselves available, actively listen, reduce burdens and continuously follow up until the issues are resolved.
3. Well-being needs to be modeled and made a priority throughout the whole organization.
Organizations cannot rely solely on managers to carry the responsibility for the well-being of their workforce. Without support from their senior leaders, managers will burn out quickly.
If the culture of support in the organization isn’t coming from the top down, or when well-being is considered an HR-driven initiative only, burnout will still result despite efforts from managers.
When organizations provide resources and tools to foster employee well-being and make connection and support for employees a priority, they reduce the emotional toll that burnout takes by creating a culture of belonging and inclusion where employees feel seen, valued and cared for.
What now?
Let’s remember that combating burnout requires more than just managing our tasks; it means nurturing connections and cultivating an environment of genuine care.
It’s only when we prioritize the training of supportive leadership skills and cultivate a supportive culture that we will finally see these burnout trends reversing.
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